Window-glass-blowing apparatus.



"a. A. WHLLER.

WINDOW GLASS BLOWING APPARATUS.

APPmcn'i'mm FlLEi) JULY 2.2, ma.

Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SEEN I.

11 mac/Wham T. A. MILLER. wmnow GLASS BLOWING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, HHS.

Patented Jun. 30, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

the art to which it TONY MILLER, 0E MORGAN'IOWN, WEST VIRGINTA.

WINDOWGLASS-BLOWING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 30; 1917.

Application filed January 22, 1916. Serial No. 73,680.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TONY A. Mitten, a subject of the King of Italy,residing at Morgantown, in the county of Monongalia and State of VestVirginia, have invented certain newand useful ln'iprovements inlVindow-Glass-Blowing Ap 'iaratus; and I do hereby declare thefollowingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in appertains to make and use the same. p I

I The invention relates to improvements in window glass blowingapparatus.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofwindow glass blowing apparatus and to provide a simple practical deviceequipped with a self-filling pot adapted to afford a continuous supplyof perfectly clean and pure glass to obviate the necessity of skimming,the glass or otherwise operating on the same to render it clean andpure.

'A further object of the invention is to provide a. window glass blowingapparatus of this character having a pot mounted in a floating positionat the surface of the glass and provided with a submerged inlet andequipped with an upper section or extensionadapted to form acontinuation of the walls of the pot and capable also of be .ing removedfrom said position to subject the glass within the pot to the action ofburners for n'mintaining the glass in the proper condition for theblowing oi win.- dow glass. 1

The. invention also has for its object to provide ineans 'l'orcontrolling the temperature of the upper extension of the pot and toprovide a cover for the extension or sec tion adapted to be carried intoand out of position to form a closure for the kiln in which the pot ismounted and also to perinit the blowing tubes to be rcadily introducedinto the pot to secure the desired quotzi of glass for blowing a.cylinder from which the window glass is made.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in, theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the accom )anying drawings and pointedout in the :aims hereto appended, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may beresorted to without dcparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a window glassblowing :l])]'):ll'utllS constructed in accordance with this invention,Fig. 2 is a similar. view taken at right angles to Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is anenlarged vertical sectional view illustrating the construction of thepot and the upper cylindrical extension or section.

cover, Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating theconstruction of the inlet of the pot, Fig. (i is a horizontal sectionalview through the vertically movable cylindrical upper sectionillustrating the construction of the metallic jacket. Fig. 7 is ahorizontal sectional view of the kiln, Fig. 8 is a. reverse plan view ofthe cover;

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawings,

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferredembodiment of the invention, 1 designates a pot designed to beconstructed of clay or any other suitable refractory materialand-located within a kiln 2 having doorway communicating with a. tankglass furnace 3. The pot 1 which is located at the surface of the glassin. a'floating position is rigidly held in place by opposite wedges iengaging notches 5-in opposite edges of an outwardly extending flange orportion 6 of the potl and inlcr 'ioscd between the latter and theopposite walls of the kiln whereby the pot is firmly sccnrci inposition. The pot l is preferably of annular form and the flange (iextcnds outwardly from the upper portion of the pot and is providedinits'upper face with a crossscctionally tapered annular groove 7 and ithas a collar or flange 8 located atthe inner side of the groove andprojecting above the surface of the glass. The outwardly extendingannular flai'ige or portion (3 has an inclined upper face, the groovcwhich is formed in the said inclined face is located slightly above thesurface of the glass and the said collar which is 0! annular form isformed integral with the pot which has curved walls sloping downwardlyand inwardly as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings tosubstantially flat bottom 9. The bottomis provided with a centralopening 10 and the pot is equipped with an exterior inlet 11 Fig. 4 isan enlarged sectional view of the l having a substantiallycylindricalbone or passage 12 and forming an elbow- 13 be-- ncath the bottomof thepot. The ihlet eX- tends upwardly from the bottom of the pot at one sidethereof and its upper end or month 1 L is submerged being preferablylocated three or four inchesbelow the surface of the glass so thatnothing but pure clean glass will enter the passage and flow into thepdt By this construction and ar-. rangementthe' pot is self-fillingandissupplied with clean pure glasswithout the necessity (if-skimmingtherglass' or otherwise operating on the same to' secure a sup-' ply ofclean glasstlor blowing. i

The tank furnace 3 is 'p'roviiled" at the doorway 15 of the kiln with afloat 16 located at the surface of the glass and ada ited to preventimpurities at the surface 0 the glass from flowing into the kiln wherebythe glass Within the kiln is maintained relatively clean and pure. Thepot is preferably reinforced at 17 over the inlet 11 and it is locatedcentrally beneath an opening 18 in the arch or top 1-9 of the kiln andcooperates with a. verticallyniovable cylindrical section 21 to lit thetapering groove 7 and it is equipped with anexterior metallic watercooled picket 22 consisting of inner and outer shells fornied integralwith each other and connected at intervals by reinforcing or bracingportu-ms 23 which may beof'a-ny desired size. The inner and ohter shellsare connected at the low'cr edge 'of'the acljiet by a wall or portion erand the lower portion of the jackctiscurved at 25 to present a convexinner supporting face which fits a concave" exterior annular fface ofthe iextension 580131011 20. whereby the latter is supported by themetallicjaclzet. .Th'e inner.

and outer shells of the water acket form an 1nter \-*enmg space 27 whichs supplied w th water by an inlet'p pc 29 which is mounted in atlireailed perforation of' atop ring or annular member 30 secured byscrews or the top, at intervals othersuit: hle' fastening devices to"the meher. The annular top wall or member is also providedyvith anoutlet pipe 34 for the discharge of the water after the same has been.heated by its' passage through the space 27. The inlet and outlet pipeswill in praet'i Pebe equipped with flexible hose sections and so as notto interfere with the upward and.

-downwardmovement of the cylindrical section in raising and loweringthesame to and from the pot. The inlet and outlet pipes may of course belocated at any desired point and the; annular member or ring 30 hassecured to it substantially hook-shaped attach- I lug members 37 -wlnchare designed to en- -ga 'e links of'chains 38. The hooks or member s37a're' n'ovided with attaching portions fill' and' the chains 38' areconnected with cables 40 or other supporting means whichmaylie-connected with any holstlng inechanisin for raising andloweringthe upper extension section of the pot. The upper extensiblesection which is movable upwardly and downwardly through the opening inthe arch of the kiln is equipped with a cover'41 constructed. ofsuitable refractory material and equipped with upper and lower annularmembers 42 and 43 and provided with a conical metallic top section 44.;The upper mud. lower annular members 42 and 43 which are arranged at theupper and lower faces ofthe periphery of the cover are connected byvertical-bolts 45 and the lower annular member which may be composed ofsections is preferably substantially L-shaped in cross section toprovide an inwardly extending flange 46 which is embedded in thematerial of the body portion 41 of the cover. The lower annularlne'inbcris provided with diametrically arrangederossed rods 47 whichpierce the bddy portion 41 of the cover and assist in supporting thesame and also in holding j the metallic portions of the cover securelyin position with relation to the refractory body portion 41.1 The rodswhich are preferably pr iivided at one end with 'a head and threadedat-t'he other end for the reception at a nut'inay be secured tothe'lower annular section in any other desired .manner. The

cover is provided at opposite sides with substanti ally hook-shapedattaching members or hangers 48 mounted on the upper annular member asclearly-illustrated. in Fig. L of the rollers'51 and movableinwardly andout- "drawings and connected by suitable flexible 1 connections l9 witha carriage 50 having wardly between 1 track bars- 52 preferablyformed'by channeled beams and having in-- nor and outer stops 53 but thecarriage may tallic jacket :u'ul'consti uting atop wall foi 'bc slidablymounted in any 'other desired the same. The metall' iaclr'et is providedat portions23 and threaded perforations 31 are formed in the metal atthe ends of the connecting portions for the reception of the screws 32of the annular top wall or memvitli' the connecting The kiln is withapertures 58 in which are mounted gas burners 59 and the cylindricalupper section provided at opposite sides is adapted to b: .calsed untilits lower edge is approximately in the plane of the lower face of thearch. or top wall of the kiln to expose the contents of the pot tothe-action of the flames of the gas burner and after the contents of thepot are subjected to the desired heating action the cylindrical uppersection is lowered to engage its tapered or beveled lower edge with theannular groove of the pot and the cover is then lifted and movedbackwardly from the opening 18 to enable the blowing pipe to beintroduced into the pot to obtain the desired amount of glass forblowing a cylinder. The track on ables the cover-to be carried entirelyaway from the opening 18 to a point adjacent to 20 the tank of thefurnace. The cover forms a closure for the cylindrical section when thesame is in its extended position and the cylindrical section is designedto be in its lowermost position only while the blowing tube is inoperation to obtain a supply of glass from the pot. The kiln is alsoprovided at opposite sides with skimming and setting holes 58 which arelocated diametrically opposite each other and opposite the inlet of thepot in the transverse vertical plane f the same.

The salient feature of the invention of prime importance is theconstruction of the kiln with its arched top so as to provide for aneasy play of the heat when the apparatus is in operation and better whenthe apparatus is not in operation. The construction enables glass of aneven tem erature of any desired degree to be uniform y radiated 40 tothe kiln as there are no cold air drafts in the same to interfere withthe proper heating of the glass.

\Vhat is claimed is 1. An apparatus of the class described ineluding aglass furnace provided witha kiln having an arched top wa|l,-said topwall being provided with an opening anda pot secured within the kilnbelow the said opening and extending into the glass and l having asubmerged inlet, saidpot being provided at opposite sides with notches,wedges engaging the notches and the opposite walls of the kiln and anextension section movable through the said opening and 5 adapted to forma continuation of the pot.

2. An up aratus of the class described including a .urnaoe having a topwall provided with an opening, a pot located within tension section,

the furnace below the said opening and having a submerged inlet and anextension sec-. tion forming a continuation of the walls of the pot; andmovable upwardly and down.- wardly therefrom, said extension sectionconsisting of a body portion of refractory material and an outermetallic water jacket, 66 said water jacket being provided with aninwardly curved lower portion forming a support for the body portion ofthe extension section. i 3. An apparatus of the class described in- 70eluding a. furnace having a top Wall provided with an opening, a potlocated within the furnace below the said opening, and having asubmerged inlet and an extension section forming a continuation of thewalls of the pot and movable upwardly and downwardly therefrom, saidextension section comprising a body portion of refractory material, anouter water jacket fitting the body portion and provided with a lowersupporting portion, a-top wall or member carrying the water jacket, aremovable cover arranged upon the said top member, and supporting beamsalso connected with the top member.

4. An apparatus of the class described including a furnace having a topwall provided with an opening, a pot located within the furnace belowthe said opening, and hav ing a submergedinlet and an extension sec- "0tion forming a continuation of the walls of the pot and movable upwardlyand downwardly therefrom, and a cover for the excomprising a refractorybody portion, upper and lower metallic peripheral members adjustablyconnected and engaging the body portion and a Sllbstantially conicalmetallic top section secured to the upper member.

An apparatus of the class described ineluding a glass furnace having akiln provided with burner apertures and having 0pposite skimming andsetting holes, a pot arranged within the furnace and hm ing a submergedinlet located in thetransverse plane of the said holes, burners mountedin the said apertines and an extension section co operating with thewalls of the pot and mhvable to and from the same.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TONY a. MILLER.

Vitnmes:

Fawn LANTERI, (Juno RAMELID-

